Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Contemporary art museum in Old Town Scottsdale, United States.
The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, also known as SMoCA, is a contemporary art museum in Scottsdale, Arizona, housed in a converted cinema building. It contains four gallery spaces, a lounge area, and an outdoor section that extends the experience beyond the interior walls.
The building started its life as a cinema before being transformed in 1999 into an art venue by architect Will Bruder, who worked with the existing structure rather than replacing it. The conversion helped shift the character of that part of Scottsdale toward arts and culture.
SMoCA, as locals call it, draws artists and curious visitors alike, and its programming often reflects conversations happening in art today rather than looking back at the past. The space feels open and inviting, encouraging people to move through it at their own pace.
The layout is straightforward, with the galleries arranged so that moving from one to the next feels natural and unhurried. It is worth checking current exhibitions in advance, as the programming changes regularly and some visits may be timed around specific shows.
A permanent work by James Turrell called Knight Rise frames the Arizona sky through an oval opening cut into the roof, so the artwork is never the same twice. The changing light and cloud conditions mean that two people visiting on different days will see something entirely different.
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